US dollar versus CDN dollar - prequel to NAU?

This is an article from The Star showing how despite the CDN dollar being stronger than the US, the Canadian Consumer still doesn't see any deals in Canada. Some retailers are offering the choice to pay the US price instead, but I don't think many stores will catch on.

This article talks about how there's a ban on US dealerships selling cars to Canadians. The car companies argue the 2 countries have different regulations, hence cars costing more in Canada.

To me is sounds like an attempt not only to gouge Canadian auto-buyers, but also to make the NAU idea (one currency between all markets) more appealing.

Your thoughts on the matter are always appreciated.

"I really do feel they're taking advantage of Canadians," he said.

He's not the only one. Many consumers are angry that prices for many products here haven't dropped as the Canadian dollar shot up during the last year.

But several auto manufacturers are sticking to a policy prohibiting U.S. dealers from selling to Canadians, who see thousands of dollars in savings on dealer websites.

"I tried buying a Honda vehicle from the U.S. to save $5,000 to $10,000 but the dealerships from New Hampshire to North Carolina in the east and from Washington to California in the west refused to sell to Canadians," said Bernard Au of Toronto. "Dealers claimed that Honda U.S. had threatened to close down their dealership if they do sell new vehicles to Canadians."

Other auto makers ranging from Chrysler to Toyota have also warned their U.S. dealers not to sell to Canadian consumers or brokers. Most franchise agreements state that a dealer can't sell to a resident of another country.

The federal Competition Bureau says there is nothing illegal about the practice.

Source

I was thinking this long ago:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

...and still wonder how long until fruition.

The EU went common currency first, then political unification. I'm not sure if Europe had a pre-cursor like the SPP to help things along, but I imagine that when something is a) being done for the second time and b) involves only 3 countries not 10 or more, it can be done a lot more rapidly.

I find sidebar stories like the rush of Mexican illegals over the Detroit/Windsor border, the Alberta oil royalties, the NFL in Toronto, etc. all to be interesting, as if they are microscopic threads in a bigger net being woven, that at some point someone will just have to pull the draw-strings and we're the NAU.

The US Dollar is becoming weaker againt all currencys.

Pound hits 26-year US dollar high
news.bbc.co.uk...


Check xe.com every day or even ever hour and the USD is on a steady decline down the toilet.